On May 25, 2021 Phanes Therapeutics, Inc. (Phanes), an emerging leader in innovative drug discovery in immuno-oncology, reported the completion of $40 million Series B financing (Press release, Phanes Therapeutics, MAY 25, 2021, View Source [SID1234580579]). The round of financing was led by Sequoia Capital China with participation from new investors and current shareholders. The proceeds from this round will be used to advance several preclinical programs to clinic, expand the research and clinical teams, and support the advancement of research projects in the PACbody and ATACCbody platforms.

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"This round of financing will accelerate our robust growth. We are excited about the opportunity of making a major impact in the immuno-oncology field," said Ming Wang, PhD/MBA, CEO of Phanes Therapeutics, "At Phanes, our mission is to become a major source of innovation in the biopharma industry, and we are fully committed to delivering innovative therapies to patients."

On May 25, 2021 BioTheryX, Inc., a clinical-stage company focused on degrading proteins to create life-saving medicines, reported that the company will present virtually at the 2021 Jefferies Virtual Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, June 1st, 2021 at 1:30 pm ET (Press release, BioTheryX, MAY 25, 2021, View Source [SID1234580578]). A live webcast of the presentation can be accessed here and will be made available on the company’s website under the Events section.

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Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

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Robert Williamson, President and CEO, will present an overview on the company’s targeted protein degradation platform, its clinical stage oncology pipeline, and the management team will participate with him in 1x1s with investors.

On May 25, 2021 QIAGEN N.V. (NYSE:QGEN; Frankfurt Prime Standard:QIA) reported a global collaboration with Mirati Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:MRTX) to continue developing a tissue-based KRAS companion diagnostic to identify patients with cancers that have a KRASG12C mutation who may benefit from treatment with adagrasib, Mirati’s investigational, highly selective and potent oral small molecule inhibitor of KRASG12C (Press release, Qiagen, MAY 25, 2021, View Source [SID1234580577]).

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The agreement initially focuses on a companion diagnostic test for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and allows for further development of tests for other Mirati oncology programs.

The planned companion diagnostic would expand upon QIAGEN’s therascreen KRAS testing portfolio based on real-time qualitative PCR for the QIAGEN Rotor-Gene Q MDx instrument, a member of the modular QIAsymphony family of automation solutions, and builds upon the Company’s nearly decade of experience in KRAS companion diagnostic test development and commercialization. QIAGEN and Mirati have previously partnered for the development of a companion diagnostic.

"We are pleased Mirati recognizes the success of QIAGEN’s therascreen platform and continues to partner with us to develop a tissue-based companion diagnostic to identify patients who may benefit from adagrasib. QIAGEN’s experience and expertise in developing diagnostic solutions for Precision Medicine are well-suited to evaluate patients with non-small cell lung cancer," said Jean-Pascal Viola, Senior Vice President and Head of QIAGEN’s Molecular Diagnostics Business Area. "Our collaboration with Mirati is a demonstration of QIAGEN’s capabilities as a preferred partner of pharmaceutical and biotech companies for the creation of companion diagnostics."

The therascreen-based companion diagnostic detects KRASG12C, a genetic mutation that is one of the most common KRAS alterations linked to cancer. The RAS gene family is the most frequently mutated oncogene in human cancer, with KRAS being the most prevalent driver mutation in NSCLC.

QIAGEN is a pioneer in Precision Medicine and the global leader in collaborations with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to co-develop companion diagnostics, which detect clinically relevant genetic abnormalities to provide insights that guide clinical decision-making in diseases such as cancer. QIAGEN has an unmatched depth and breadth of technologies from next-generation sequencing (NGS) to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for companion diagnostic development. QIAGEN has nine PCR based companion diagnostics that are FDA approved, including therascreen EGFR for non-small cell lung cancer, therascreen KRAS for colorectal cancer, therascreen FGFR for urothelial cancer, therascreen PIK3CA for breast cancer based on tissue or plasma samples and the therascreen BRAF kit for colorectal cancer.

Currently, QIAGEN is working under master collaboration agreements with more than 25 companies to develop and commercialize companion diagnostic tests for their drug candidates – a deep pipeline of potential future products to advance Precision Medicine for the benefit of patients. QIAGEN is partnering with Illumina to broaden the availability and use of NGS-based in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) kits, including companion diagnostics, for patient management.

On May 25, 2021 Cellaria Inc (Wakefield, MA, USA), a scientific innovator with breakthrough tools for cancer research, now offers five stable, reported that fully authenticated lung cancer cell models to support the development of more effective and targeted drug therapies (Press release, Cellaria, MAY 25, 2021, View Source [SID1234580576]). Lung cancer was responsible for around 1.80 million deaths globally in 20201, more than any other cancer, making it an important area of clinical research. Each Cellaria model is securely linked to a well-defined patient tumor enabling the in vitro study of disease progression and drug response in a specific patient biology with defined genetic and epigenetic characteristics. Such studies accelerate progress towards better therapies for specific patient populations.

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Cellaria’s lung cancer cell models are all derived from tumors associated with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which accounts for around 85% of lung cancer cases. In recent years considerable progress has been made towards optimizing treatment for different subtypes of NSCLC with the targeting of specific genetic mutations proving particularly productive. Cellaria’s new lung cancer models – Bastion, Boulder, Pincer and Throne – join Jacket (an existing model), to provide a diverse patient cohort for the extension of such studies. All the patients within the cohort were over 60 years of age and had a history of smoking, but they exhibited notable, clinically significant differences including:

Documented variation in consumption and duration of smoking
Comorbidities – Throne had a previous diagnosis melanoma
Throne and Jacket have a KRAS genetic mutation, Pincer, Boulder and Bastion did not.
All Cellaria models are extremely stable and supplied with a Certificate of Analysis, to support optimal application. In addition, Cellaria produces drug response reports showing data for three baseline relevant treatments. For the lung cancer cohort this report includes results for etoposide and cisplatin and for two targeted treatments: 1) larotrectinib which is prescribed for patients with a neurotrophic receptor tyrosine kinase (NRTK) gene fusion and 2) erlotinib, which is prescribed for patients with a KRAS mutation. Detailed information such as this makes it straightforward to use Cellaria models effectively from the outset to implement reproducible and relevant research and maximize the benefit of in vitro studies.

"With the increase in availability of targeted therapeutics like larotrectinib and erlotinib, patient-specific models are adding essential utility," comments David Deems President and Founder, Cellaria Inc. "Jacket has mutations that make the patient a candidate for either larotrectinib or erlotinib. This unique patient-derived model enables the interrogation of each drug’s performance with the model to determine differences."

To find out more about the new lung cancer models view our product overviews here.

1 WHO Cancer Fact Sheet Detail. 3rd March 2021. Available to view at: View Source

On May 25, 2021 Legend Biotech Corporation (NASDAQ: LEGN) ("Legend Biotech"), a global clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery and development of novel cell therapies for oncology and other indications, reported it will present at the Jefferies Virtual Healthcare Conference on June 3, 2021 at 9:30 am ET (Press release, Legend Biotech, MAY 25, 2021, View Source [SID1234580575]). This webcast will be available to investors and other interested parties by accessing the Legend Biotech website at View Source

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Early/Late Stage Pipeline Development - Target Scouting - Clinical Biomarkers - Indication Selection & Expansion - BD&L Contacts - Conference Reports - Combinatorial Drug Settings - Companion Diagnostics - Drug Repositioning - First-in-class Analysis - Competitive Analysis - Deals & Licensing

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